A Spooky Acknowledgment
by chelsia
Summary: Matthew, overshadowed by his brother, has had enough. Being dragged to this stupid Halloween party was the last straw... and hey, that mean looking Cuban kid is actually pretty nice. Cuba/Canada, AU, real names used.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own Hetalia. ALSO, **Cuba's human name is going to be Enrique**. Why? ...j-just because.

A/N: h-happy almost halloween! i'm only writing this to distract myself from the truth that nanowrimo is almost here ;_; also where the fuck are my cuba/canada shippers? fandom disappoints me sometimes u_u!

Warnings: We'll see in later chapters... wat.

**A Spooky Acknowledgment **

"Hey, hey, Mattie, guess what?"

No. He was going to ignore him.

"Mattie, Mattie, guess what?"

Nope, he wasn't going to reply to this idiot.

"Heeeey, you listening?"

This idiot was his _brother_. How were they related, again? Well, technically, they were only _half_-related, but still...

"If you don't listen to me, I'm going to start talking about what Arthur and I do at ni—"

"Al!" Matthew had turned around, reluctantly giving his full attention to Alfred. He was already trapped at night by _hearing_ what they did – he didn't need a full bloody account that included every single details plus an afterword. Matt rubbed his temple with both hands and let out a defeated sigh. "Geez, okay, what is it?"

His brother beamed at him. Matt could practically feel the sunshine and rainbows. "Arthur's holding a Halloween party tonight, Mattie, and he invited both of us~!"

Matthew leaned back on his bed and quirked a brow, a hand going to his chest in mock surprise. "What? Why are you telling me at the last minute? And your boyfriend actually remembered who I was, eh?"

"Uh, actually, no…" Alfred started, and Matthew could feel a huge arrow of disappointment shoot through his heart. "B-But that's ok, you're invited anyways! Sorry it's last mi—"

"No."

"…What?"

"I said no."

Alfred blinked, and then began again. "But it's going to be fun! Just name something – I bet it's there!"

Matt gave him a sharp look. "Polar bears."

"…this is a Halloween party, not a Christmas one! Come on, Mattie."

"Nope, then, never mind," Matthew shook his head, and stood up. God, he was starting to feel dizzy. "And if you really want to know why, I think it's obvious—actually, no, I'm talking to you. Why would it be obvious to _you_?" The last part was rhetoric and bitter, and the frustration was gradually rising inside the forgotten of the two brothers. He hated how he sounded like a teenage girl, but it was painfully true; he was never noticed, and always fell in his brother's consuming shadow.

Matt started towards the door, but his brother's voice stopped him. "Hey, Mattie, I'm sorry… but I'm picking you up later at 7, okay?"The second part was said with a darker, controlling lilt in Alfred's voice.

Frozen at the doorway, Matthew bit his bottom lip.

_Always controlled. Never in control._

_Why couldn't he just fight back for once?_

_Why was he so compliant?_

"Okay," That was all he said, before he drifted out the door.

As soon as Matthew was out of earshot, Alfred quickly brandished his cell and dialed his boyfriend's number. "Come onnn, pic—Arthur! Arthur, we're going to need polar bear- yes, yes I said polar bears. For Matt. He said—Matt's my brother, remember? Geez, and you say _I'm_ dumb. Anyways, can you—what? No, I don't know. I don't think they have to be alive… maybe just some cute little décor or something… yeah, I know, I told him that too. I think he's stuck in the wrong season…"

* * *

It was 7:30 and, unsurprisingly, his brother was late. Admittedly, it was kind of cold and all, standing outside in the late October breeze in a thin Canadian Mountie costume.

7:30 soon became 7:45, and 7:45 soon became eight o'clock. He shivered a bit.

Matt decided to call his brother, who picked up almost immediately.

"Hiya Mattie!" There was loud music blaring in the background. A terrible but familiar feeling chilled Matthew inside. "Need something?"

Words didn't want to form, and it was quite hard forcing them out. "Ah, a-actually, never mind, eh," Matt felt like an idiot. He should have known. "I'm gonna let you go—"

"_Shit_!" Matt flinched on the other end of the line. "Shit, shit, I forgot, shit! I'm sorry, Mattie!"

"No, no, it's okay," His brother replied weakly.

"No, it's not. You are going to come to this party—I can't really leave now, but I'll get a friend to pick you up, 'kay? Just give him ten minutes, I promise."

Matt's gaze dropped down to the ground, following a squirrel making a last-minute dash across the darkening lawn. "Yeah, okay."

* * *

Send a friend of his, _Matthew's ass_!

This 'friend' turned out to be none other than Enrique, better yet known as the school's infamous 'that one kid who looks really mean so that's why no one even talks about him' guy. And as far as Matt and the school knew, it was a well-known fact that Enrique and Alfred _hated _each other.

So just _how_ and _why_ exactly had Al gotten the Cuban boy to agree to anything he said?

Either way, he was now stuck in the back of Enrique's car. He wasn't much of an auto expert, and had no idea what type or model or whatever it was, but he was smart enough to tell that it was pretty _awesome_. And surprisingly, besides from being a god damn sweet ride, Enrique had seemed to keep the car particularly neat. The only qualm Matt had was that it stunk like cigars and cologne, and it kinda-sorta was making him feel a bit nauseous.

The fact that the guy was driving quite recklessly didn't help either. Matt could have sworn they just went through at least three red lights.

"Is something wrong back there?" Enrique's gravelly voice made Matt jump a bit.

"Aha, no, no," The blond waved his hand a bit and forced a smile, before both hands fell back into his lap. It was silent for a bit as Matthew was having an internal battle to see if he should try and start conversation. "So, eh… Enrique. What are you supposed to be...?"

The Cuban glanced back at Matt with an inquiring gaze via the rear-view mirror. "A vampire," He said slowly. "Why, it isn't obvious?"

Actually, it was. Matthew felt the embarrassment rise to his cheeks. His mouth opened by itself, and he prayed he didn't say something too stupid. "Oh, no, i-it was. I just thought vampires sparkled, that's all."

A grin cracked across Enrique's face and he let out a chuckle. "Haha, very funny. Say, what's your name again?"

Ouch. "M-matthew."

"Well then, 'M-matthew', you actually don't seem as bad as your asshole brother," Enrique said, nodding his head approvingly.

Matt leaned forward unconsciously, amethyst eyes widening a bit. "R-really, eh?" That was the first compliment he had received in such a long time that favored his existence over his brother's.

"Yep. Say, do you have some sort of uh, accent on ya?"

The blonde fell back in the seat, and smiled a bit. "Yeah. It's Canadian. See, when I was young—"

"Wouldja look at that, we're here!" The car stopped abruptly, ending both their journey and Matt's story.

Oh well.

* * *

A/N: . this is going to be terrible. ,_,


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Why do teachers decide to give homework over the holiday? D: This really messed up my schedule for this story, sorry! I'm going to try and finish it today, since NaNoWriMo starts tomorrow OTL Happy Halloween!

* * *

Countless cars lined Arthur's street, which Matthew could honestly say made him just that more nervous. Said house hosting the party had flashing, hypnotizing red lights that could be seen from a good mile away, and the faint hum of music vibrated from the double doors. Toilet paper was strung across the trees, and the front yard was shrouded with an eerie mist coming from the fog generator.

"Hurry up and get out, I need ta lock the car." Matt blinked and ripped himself out of his trance, quickly got out, and politely and quietly thanked the Cuban man.

The blond walked carefully behind Enrique towards the house. He glanced about, and unconsciously began to wring his hands.

Crap.

Parties and social outings weren't really his scene.

And, of course, he was just going to be alone for the few hours.

And yet, like the obedient idiot he was, he followed the taller man into the house. Inwardly he grimaced; it was like falling into a rabbit hole and ending up in a completely different dimension full of sweat, exposed flesh, pulsing music, and the heavy yet inevitable smell of alcohol.

Within the first few seconds of entering he completely lost sight of Enrique, and if he had felt lost before, well…

Matt adjusted his Mountie hat and started towards the back, where, thank god, there was a decently lit spot to hover by. Even better, that's where the food was. If he was going to suffer through this party, he might as well get a damn caramel apple out of it.

It was difficult to avoid all the dancing happening in between the entrance and his destination, and several times a body bumped into him, sometimes followed by an apology, such as, "Sorry `bout that, Al!"

It wasn't worth sighing about.

Matthew emerged from the horde of grinding bodies and gasped for breath, but to no avail. The air was hot and stuffy and full of a mixture of smells that couldn't be pinpointed as pleasant or not. He fell back into what he mentally claimed as his corner, grabbed a caramel apple, and allowed himself to become a complete ghost.

Eyes scanned the crowd of masked and unmasked faces, and although they had no idea who Matt was, he at least knew who they were.

Right there, see, the girl with the pretty brunette hair and beautiful smile on her face – that was Elizabeta. And he knew that she was dating that one musical guy, the one who was just as uncomfortable as Matt, the one with his arms crossed; Matthew knew his name was Roderich. The only Japanese kid in the school was Kiku; he was also probably one of the prettiest boys, too. But the one who got the most girls was probably that Gilbert guy, the one dressed like a…. a yellow bird? Matt squinted. Anyways, the womanizer was pretty nutty, in Matthew's opnion, since he always claimed that Prussia was going to rise once more.

There were others, but it only made the blond feel lonelier looking at them; it kinda really sucked that even if he could name every single person in his school and their reputation, only a handful of people could even remember his name.

He took a few bites out of his caramel apple, decided it was way too sour for him, and threw it out – but just as he was turning around, someone accosted him from behind.

"Mattie!"

Matthew wanted to groan, but boy, he'd be lying if he said he wasn't glad to see his oaf of a brother.

Alfred let his brother go, and gave him a playful punch to the shoulder. Matt turned to face him, and was… nonetheless surprised at what his brother was wearing.

"Are… are you trying to be David Bowie, eh?"

Al grinned. "Damn right!"

The other was in complete disbelief. "But you said you were going to dress up as a cowboy! You know, so we could have sort-of-matching costumes…" His voice trailed off, and he gave his brother another look-over. No words could describe how ridiculous Al looked right now, but still, people were commenting on his costume.

Why?

Because Alfred always stuck out, that's why. He _existed_.

"Yeah, I know… I should have told you. But hey, I can sing Fame now without getting weird looks!"

"Yes, you should have told me, eh." Matt crossed his arms and huffed. "And you're still going to get weird looks."

At that moment Arthur came bounding over, dressed as… oh, Matthew just gave up.

"Really? Freddie Mercury?"

The Brit nodded. "Yeah!" His arm snaked around Alfred's waist. _They look so adorable together, in their __**matching costumes**__ and all,_ Matt thought bitterly. "Hey, is this your brother? Wow, you guys do look bloody alike." Arthur considered Matthew for a second, before nodding slowly. "Now that I think about it, I think I've seen him around before…"

"I'm in your English class, eh." A look of realization dawned on Arthur's face, before Matt stuck out his hand. "I'm Matthew, nice to meet you."

The Brit took his hand with a firm grip. "Charmed to meet you, I'm Arthur." He elbowed Al in the ribs. Hard. "How come you've never introduced him to me before, you git?"

The man shrugged.

Arthur elbowed him again, and turned back to Matt.

"Sorry, he's an idiot."

Matt allowed a small smile and softly said, "Yeah, he is… oh!" He poked his brother. "Hey, doesn't that Enrique guy hate you?"

Al stopped rubbing his side and looked up. "Haha, he's a fucking bastard! But yeah! Why?"

"…how'd you get him to do you a favor?"

"Alfred's incapable of bloody everything, so I had to ask him," Arthur cut in, shaking his head. "Poor bloke looked like he was just standing around doing nothing, but funnily enough, told me to sod off when I tried to talk to him."

"Really?" Matt was suddenly curious. "How'd you convince him?"

Arthur proudly smirked and ran a thumb over his fake mustache. "Pretty easy. Told him I'd hook him up with that one Dutch girl, uh, what's her name…" He looked to his boyfriend for an answer, but Al looked just as clueless. That earned him another elbow to the ribs. "Jeez, anyways, you know the one I'm talking about, right? Well, rumor has it that he fancies her – actually, I think everyone fancies her. Nice tits on that girl, real nice tits. But…" Out of the corner of Arthur's eye, he saw Alfred pouting. He gave a smirk of his own before he leant in and pressed a chaste kiss to Al's frowning mouth. The innocent kiss quickly morphed into a full-blown make out session, which made Matt feel even more awkward as each second passed.

He decided to just completely disappear - maybe walking home wouldn't be entirely bad. After all, it wasn't like it was raining, or anything.

* * *

It was raining. Of course, _it was raining_.

Matthew was trapped here, in a mess of bodies and music. He groaned and scanned the room again, carefully searching for a place to sit for the remainder of the evening and get a ride home. The only open seat was next to Enrique, who was sitting back, chin tilted skywards, a lit cigar lazily dangling from the corner of his mouth.

Shyly, Matt made his way over and quietly took a seat near the Cuban man. Enrique made no gesture to recognize the blond, but that was alright. Actually, it quite nice to be near him – since he was so relaxed it made the atmosphere around him at ease. Matthew liked calmness.

It was when Enrique brought his head forward, took one final inhale and lengthy exhale, that he noticed the blond next to him.

"Hey, who the fuck said you could sit near me?" The darker man growled, pulling broad shoulders back and shooting Matthew a terrifying glare.

The blond inhaled sharply and tried to stammer out words. "I-i-I'm sorry, I just… I-I didn't mean to intrude, it was j-just—"

"Wait," Enrique cut him off, squinting a bit. "Oh shit! Uh, Matt, right?" Matt nodded his head out of confusion and fear. "Fuck. I thought you were your dumbass brother."

"Oh, sorry."

Enrique blinked, and then stared hard at the other. "Why are _you_ sorry? If anything, I should apologize."

"I…" Matt's gaze dropped, and he shrugged.

"Hey, hey, I didn't mean it, Matteo," Enrique had no idea what to do. This kid was actually _fragile_ – usually he didn't care, or he pretty much became their worst nightmare and a complete asshole. "It's just that, well… you _do_ resemble your brother."

The blond sighed in agreement. "Yeah, I know, eh. I wish I didn't."

Enrique let the beginning of a smile cross his face. "Hey—"

**_CRACK._**

The sound cut through the trance of music and a few people stopped their movements to look around, heads turning and trying to detect where the noise had come from.

"It's thunder," Matt said.

"Yeah."

Some moments later, everyone who had stopped went back to what they were doing... but not for long. The room was suddenly illuminated in a white hot flash – everyone froze. A shattering noise followed the light, and the room shook.

It was silent for at least a minute, before a rushed murmur of worry rippled through the party.

And then there was another flash, another clap of horrendous thunder, and the lights went off.

* * *

**A/N:** ruh roh, shaggy!


End file.
